Page 188 of The Pansy Paradox
Max Monroe has a score to settle.
And all the time in all the worlds to do so.
Chapter 91
Pansy
King’s End, Minnesota
Sunday, July 16
There are voices. But that’s all there are. This doesn’t alarm me, although maybe it should. Words float in and out, in and out, until, at last, they resolve.
“You kept a cool head in the aftermath. I’m impressed.” Mort, I’m nearly certain, although he isn’t speaking to me.
“You contributed.”
Mort laughs, the sound tinged with sadness. “Ah, Gwennie, we’ll make a team player of you yet. Still, I’m not sure when you had time to call for medical backup and a cleanup crew.”
“Well, you know, women are better at multi-tasking. And I managed to unearth a bit of leverage along the way. It speeds things up when you can skip echelons.”
“Why let a good crisis go to waste?”
“You could say that. Now, before we do this, are you absolutely certain you’re the same blood type?”
“Should be in her records, shouldn’t it?”
“There’s a lot in her records that’s erroneous. I don’t trust them. I don’t trust him. And after everything…”
A pause. The air around me is strange, silent, and sorrowful.
Mort coughs out a sigh, the sound full of regret. “Yeah. After everything. How about this.” Now his voice perks up. “You might say I couldn’t be more positive about our blood type.”
And yes, Mort never lets an opportunity for a joke go to waste.
“Try to be serious.”
“I did that once. Didn’t take.” Another pause, a hiss of breath. “Ow. Damn, you’re vicious.”
“Thank you.”
“How’s Darnelle?”
Henry? I want to sit up, find him, make sure he’s okay. My body won’t comply, like something or someone is holding me down. I concede that something may simply be gravity.
“Stubborn. Refusing treatment until I…”
“Well, what are you waiting for? Tap a vein.”
Another pause, but this one is filled with a rush, a wash, a roaring that crashes through me, something hot and most definitely aggressive, something that feels a lot like Mortimer.
“What did you end up telling the High Council?” Mort again.
“That we had an unfortunate incident at a level five hot spot and that one of our most beloved members stumbled upon a portal and vanished.”
He snorts. “He may have had a little help, but I suppose that’s close to the truth.”
“The best lies are.”
